1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to shelves, more particularly, to wall-mounted shelves that can detach from the wall and rotate out of the way when not needed.
2. The Prior Art
A shelf is a horizontal platform that is mounted to a wall and used for holding items. One particular use for a shelf is as a warming shelf mounted to the wall behind and above a range stovetop and beneath the range hood. As the name implies, cooked food items are placed on the warming shelf to keep them warm prior to serving. The rising heat from the range aids in keeping the food items warm. Some range hoods have one or more heat lamps directed downwardly to aid in keeping the food items warm. The warming shelf platform is typically a wire frame, rather than a solid sheet, so that rising heat reaches the items resting on top.
The warming shelf is typically pivotally mounted to the wall so that it can be rotated to an up position that is out of the way when not in use. A pair of brackets with a hole permanently mount to the wall and the shelf platform has a shaft that fits into the hole so that the shaft rotates. A clip may hold the platform in the up position so it does not fall open inadvertently.
The warming shelf may be either permanently or removably attached to the wall. The permanent attachment has the least flexibility. The warming shelf must be cleaned in place by hand, forcing a person to lean over the stovetop. It also hampers cleaning of the wall in the area around the warming shelf. A portion of a popular pivotally and permanently mounted shelf is shown in FIGS. 2 and 3. The bracket 100 has a closed slot 102 into which the end of the shaft 104 fits. In the down position, shown in FIG. 2, the shaft 104 is at the top 106 of the slot 102 and the platform 108 rests on a pedestal 110 on the inside surface of the bracket 100. In the up position, shown in FIG. 3, the shaft 104 is at the bottom 112 of the slot 102 and the platform 108 is straddled by two bracket surfaces 114 to hold the platform 108 upright.
Some pivotally mounted warming shelves are removable at the pivot. In one design, the wall-mounted bracket has a shallow hemispherical indentation and the platform has a small round nub. The nub snaps into the indentation. The nub must be small so that it can be snapped into the indentation relatively easily. Consequently, the spacing between the two brackets is critical. If the brackets are not spaced properly or are not mounted securely, the platform will not be held securely. Even relatively lightweight items will cause the bracket to fail to hold the platform.
In another removable design, each bracket has a vertical slot, open at the top of the bracket and rounded at the bottom. The ends of the platform shaft are dropped into the slots to the bottom, where the shaft rotates. A clip is needed to hold the platform in the up position and another clip is typically used to hold the platform in the correct down position.